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Insights Into Teens: Episode 1 "Hobbies"
Insights Into Things March 5, 2019 May 10, 2019 Insights Into Teens, Podcast
Joe and Madison delve into the subject of hobbies. What are teens into these days between technology, toys, social media, music and movies. They also take a look back at what some of the popular hobbies were thirty years ago and how they relate to teens today.
Speaker 1:0:10Welcome to insights into teens, a podcast series, exploring the issues and challenges of today's youth. Your hosts are Joseph and Madison, Waylon, a father and daughter team making their way through the challenges of the teenage years.
Speaker 3:0:39We're up to episode one of insights into teen. So this podcast is about hobby. This is Joseph rallying your host along with my cohost, Madison Waylon. Hi. So today we're going to be talking about hobbies. And prior to, uh, the podcast, I went out to do a little bit of research just to, uh, come up with some talking points. And, uh, one of the things that I found that was interesting is it, most of the data that's available on this subject, um, did not include individuals under the age of 15. Really? Yeah. Which I thought was kind of strange. So it was always 15 or older or 18 or older or something like that. So it would see that these polling places don't really care about the opinion of kid jury. So hopefully we can change that, the approach with this podcast. Yeah. The other thing that I noticed was that most of the data that I found was lumped into very broad, you know, topics or subjects and it didn't really go into much in the way of specifics and it was pretty wide ranging.
Speaker 3:1:55Like, you know, it would be topics like reading or exercise or travel, you know, it wasn't anything specific. Yup. So as we have our discussion today, there are certain things we'll talk about here, but I'm interested in, in really understanding what, what your hobbies are and what you enjoy doing in your free time. So, and then we'll, and then we'll talk a little bit about how hobbies have changed and we'll look at sort of 30 or so years ago, what hobbies were like when I was your age and what those hobbies translate to to that. Let's just start off with, you know, what hobbies are you interested in? What do you like to do? Well, one of the things is, I can tell you if you didn't say like, I like playing with my and collecting
Speaker 4:3:00certain ops. So yeah. And lps stands for Lois pet shops. If anyone's heard of them.
Speaker 3:3:11That's a good place to start. Let's talk or categorize your lps as tours in addition to your lps. What other toys do you like to play with?
Speaker 4:3:24Well, I like to play with stuff that's mine. Craft and spongebob related.
Speaker 3:3:30Okay. So Minecraft my career, I've kind of confuses things a little bit because Minecraft is a video game. But my grandma also has toys outside the video game, correct? Yup. So what are some of the toys from Minecraft that you liked?
Speaker 4:3:46Well, if anyone has seen, um, the characters with that, our actual skins in Minecraft, I like playing with those cause I have at least two of them.
Speaker 3:3:58So if you like playing with Minecraft, does that naturally translate into you liking Minecraft video game as well? Okay. So sticking to the topic of toys, you mentioned with your lps that you'd like to collect them, explained the collectible aspect of lps. Yes.
Speaker 4:4:23Well, I mainly went to collect the ones that are rare, otherwise known as the five main ops, which are short hair cats, cocker Spaniels, doxins great things and colleges.
Speaker 3:4:39Okay. So they are what are considered rare locked them. So what makes them rare to be on? Only make a certain number of them. Are there special features on them?
Speaker 4:4:52Well probably they only make like probably a certain number of them, which would probably mean
Speaker 3:4:58which make most things were so. So do you have any of these rare ones?
Speaker 4:5:03Yeah, the only type of rare ones I don't have anymore are the congressmen knows. But I have every other type of marijuana.
Speaker 3:5:12Did you have those?
Speaker 4:5:13Well yes, but I've traded them off for other lps.
Speaker 3:5:17So how do you typically get these rare lps? LPS can be purchased through retail stores, but do you go to conventions to find these rare ones? Do you order them online to order them online? But I use it or the Tory conventions that you go to. Are there other things that they have in these toy convention that you would buy?
Speaker 4:5:44Funny thing is I have have to look at things very closely and some things I you get interested in. Others are not really that interested.
Speaker 3:5:54You play with the ips to, so what do do with them?
Speaker 4:5:58Well, I've kind of got like what I like to do is do um, high school kind of thing.
Speaker 3:6:05And what exactly does that mean?
Speaker 4:6:07It basically means like getting whole group of Lps and you have them go to high school.
Speaker 3:6:15So you kind of do real life scenarios with them using acting it out through the choice. Yup. That's interesting.
Speaker 4:6:23And it's strange to know that I give them names and I can't completely remember what names they have. It's just weird that I can just like give one a name and then I can remember it and remember like, Hey, the shoe name like that.
Speaker 3:6:37And that's gotta be a lot of names for a lot of different lps. Yeah. Wow, that's impressive. So other tours, do you plan to rescue spongebob? Yup. You have a lot of spongebob toys.
Speaker 4:6:51I at least have enough to where I can actually have a drawer where I clicked.
Speaker 3:6:55Okay. Okay. Now with spongebob, when you're playing with the sponge rock tours, are you finding out spongebob type episodes? Are you still doing high school tape thing? But what's fun about it?
Speaker 4:7:08Well, I don't really do high school or one of my favorite things to do is do like a superhero episode cause most of the toys I have or themed.
Speaker 3:7:19Okay. So was it sort of like you're making your own sponge Bob episodes that don't exist with these toys? Pretty much, yeah. Okay. That's interesting.
Speaker 4:7:31I mean some of the Tories do this from the actual episodes, but I made my own issues with
Speaker 3:7:38do you do anything? I don't know. Unusual with them clean by hot. Well I know some kids make videos of lps play sessions and stuff like that. Do you do anything like that with youtube or anything? Well some, well I haven't really posted anything on me, but I do
Speaker 4:7:55make certain videos. I mean, I mean I've tried making videos with lps and some and I even do stop motion
Speaker 3:8:03stop motion. Yup. Well that's kind of cool.
Speaker 4:8:07Yep. And basically I have this app on my phone where I take pictures of lps and student positions and when all the pictures are turned into a video, it looks like the lps are actually moving without me using my hands. Which was recommended by you.
Speaker 3:8:24That's interesting. So there's kind of like the old same nation, Rudolph the red nose reindeer type stuff. Yeah. Besides toys, what other hobbies do you have?
Speaker 4:8:38Well, I guess I do. I am sort of a Gamer.
Speaker 3:8:44Okay. What kind of gains? Obviously Minecraft, but you signs that. What else do you, what?
Speaker 4:8:49Well, there are certain Mario Games I play like Mario Kart. Yeah. Mario. Mario Odyssey. So, okay. So tell us about your, your Gamer. What platforms do you play on? What game systems do you play at all? Well, I have an intender switch, which I use for most of my games now. Okay. Uh, you also used to play it with my old lap games on my laptop. Okay. And, um, no. Were they online themes? Yeah. Play it on that. Well, what do mean by that? There were some games that are web based games. Some games that you actually install on the computer. Oh, I didn't actually install on the same other than Minecraft on my computer. So some of these role like web based so much. Yeah. So what are some of your favorite video games? Do you play Minecraft being on right. Um, I also just do stuff on my phone.
Speaker 4:9:51There's this group of banks called talking Tom and other animals. Okay. So what do you do with these are on your phone. So they're touch interactive, I assume? Yes. And where did you do with the words? The premise of the games? Well, basically with at least four of the games I have four out of six. They, it's basically like they start off as a baby. You reached them. Okay. Like you feed them, put them to bed, to the bathroom and wash them grow. And with one of them you brush the teeth. Oh, that sounds tedious. Tedious. What do you mean? Like I have to do that in real life. I don't want to do that biggie. It's you do in the game. Oh, okay. Well I guess that helps. Yeah. And there's also with some of the games, there's other stuff like what? Like with, um, with one of the newest additions that I got from the game, there is this plane where you play the games and you earn points to go on the plane and you're able to get like, oh prizes. And then what's the name of this game? Uh, talking to him too. Oh, so it's a sequel to the original one then pretty much navigate the plane portion of the game itself. Is that like a mini game inside the game? Oh, it's not like a mini game that was just like, well you play many games to get points to fly the plane. Ah, I see.
Speaker 4:11:31So we've talked about toys, we've talked about video games. What else do you do? Do you do sports? No, about reading. Do you like to read? Sometimes I read, I like to read comics. Okay. What kind of comics do you read? I mean that each lunch about comics, but I've also been into comics. And where do you
Speaker 3:11:54get your comics room?
Speaker 5:11:56MMM,
Speaker 4:11:57please call all things fun. They have all sorts of comments there. And we go every few months.
Speaker 3:12:05Oh, so you have your own comic bookstore that yeah, that's Kinda cool. Um, what about novels? Do you read novels?
Speaker 4:12:14Well, only when I have to. Normally that's rock room. Well I have gotten into a series called the warrior series after doing an inventory, the school.
Speaker 3:12:25So you had to read the original one for school and then it got you interested in the series. Obviously you have to read for school. Yup. Are they giving me different things to read for school now?
Speaker 4:12:36Well, they allow you to choose you own books at John Your level.
Speaker 3:12:39Okay. So there's no preassigned book. You basically are sent to the bookstore to buy your own book and read. How are you on?
Speaker 4:12:46Yeah. But only or so our reading do they actually assign a book to you?
Speaker 3:12:50I see. Well that's Kinda cool. So what about listening to music? Um, well I do like to listen to music. What kind of music do you listen to?
Speaker 5:13:04Wow,
Speaker 4:13:05there's this game we used to play called rock band. And I like to listen though social nail.
Speaker 3:13:12So they like modern songs. Are the classic old people songs like your mom and Dad listened to? Yeah, pretty much. So are some songs that I liked from there. That's great. Hey. So in my research I, uh, I listen all the music, so we'll, we'll pick what, oh, like songs that are popular now. What do you like to listen to be like Katy Perry?
Speaker 4:13:39Well, I don't really go by who makes them. I just really go by what songs I like. Like I listened to songs from the movie sing
Speaker 3:13:51popular songs or they put it in the movie itself. Well, yeah. Okay, well that's fine.
Speaker 3:14:02And doing my little bit of research, I came across a whole nother Polish from 2015 so it's Kinda old, but it was from a Nielsen, which is a very popular readings and polling company in the United States. This was age 15 to 20. They were asked, uh, what hobbies were you most interested in? And then what I've run down a couple of these with the percentages. I'd like you to comment on these one on one. Uh, so the most popular category was listening to music, 37% of those polls. So they preferred listen to music. 27% said reading, which I thought was kind of unusual. I didn't think people that age we're big into reading. 23% said watching TV. Now we haven't talked about that yet. Are you a TV watcher? Well obviously you watch spongebob. What else do you want?
Speaker 4:14:55Well, I watch teen titans go. Okay, well I also watch,
Speaker 6:15:02um, well, um,
Speaker 3:15:08oh my God, I watched gravity falls. Hey though. So the next one that they had at 19% was connect with family and friends. I guess what we're doing now is connecting with family and friends. But yeah. Do you hang out with your friends from school?
Speaker 6:15:26Wow.
Speaker 4:15:27Sometimes I do. I mean I invited them over to my house a few times and I had their numbers. So yeah.
Speaker 3:15:32You do sleepovers. Do you do parties
Speaker 4:15:35well done sleep overs and a couple of parties, so yeah.
Speaker 3:15:38Okay. Do you hang out with your friends and go out and fly him?
Speaker 4:15:43Wow. I normally just like, well sometimes a few years ago I used to hang out with someone and yet
Speaker 3:15:55no for now is what you're saying?
Speaker 4:15:57Yeah, no it's an hour. Normally just stay in the borders of house of home
Speaker 3:16:02and the borders are from, yes. Okay. Rough neighborhood you live in or
Speaker 4:16:06oh, it's not a rough neighborhood. Actually most of my friends are my neighbors
Speaker 3:16:10and get you don't hang out with them. Play with them. Well I do
Speaker 4:16:13like at school stuff by hanging out in place though
Speaker 3:16:17cause apparently it's too much of an effort to walk oh a hundred feet to their house. Anyway, moving on. So the next one that we have on the survey at 18% is exercise you do for exercise.
Speaker 4:16:34Well,
Speaker 3:16:36you know whenever you start with an answer like that, it usually means I don't do that particular activity
Speaker 4:16:41well sometimes. Okay.
Speaker 3:16:44Okay. Playing online games came in at 17% do you play online games?
Speaker 4:16:50Well there are games download to please.
Speaker 3:16:53Okay. I'm not sure if qualifies as online. What do you mean by that? Or online games would be going to a website thing. Again, when a website? Yeah, I do that. Okay. Social media, 17% review social media. Do you do a lot of social media?
Speaker 4:17:08Well, there's only one thing that's social for me, but which is called Kids Messenger where you have to like choose who you like. My mom chooses who I should talk to and it's mainly my family members and a few friends that are on this museum.
Speaker 3:17:28So you don't do Twitter, you don't do snapchat?
Speaker 4:17:34Well I do snapchat but I don't really post pictures. I just like to see the filters and take a few pictures.
Speaker 3:17:40Did you do any kind of photo blogs or anything like that? What do you mean? Well, I don't know. Some people do like silly photo blogs of like their pets or toys or stuff like that. My mom does have an Instagram account for my stuffed animal kitty. That's Instagram that you're is on. Uh, so 16 was played video games and I think this was what we were talking about before you download it or if you play. So you play on the switch, you play on your phone, you play on your laptop. Anything else you play on TV? Do you have any other gaming consoles, like an x box or a playstation? While I do have a few extra bucks is around the house. And what do you playing on those? Both like to play call of duty because dictating the Rambo because why? Because you like to go crazy with the guns. Exactly. Yes. There's nothing wrong with playing call of duty. As long as you realize that it is a video game, it's not real life. And in your case it's, it serves as a very good stress reliever cause you know how much I have stressed, especially on Mondays and then you can handle this and that's a whole nother series of podcasts I'm sure we'll be doing. So it's 14% we had sports and we tell us about your love of sports.
Speaker 3:19:13So you don't really do a lot of sports. You don't go out and kick the ball around and have a catch or anything like that. Okay, well that's, that's good. Uh, proper sense of travel. Do you travel alone? Where do you usually travel to them? We do that a lot. I know you probably should have been Tyler places. I mean in California to go to Disney. That's really why protective the those for my work. Oh Hi. Oh we did. That was fractured actually for daddy's gave me group. You went to kings island out there as a matter of top of the Eiffel Tower. Yeah. You don't really like heights and it was pretty high fears. Yes, we have lots of those. So at 11% we had shopping online. Do you shop online? What do you shop online for? Rare. LPS. And where'd you buy those from? I've looked on Amazon a few times, but I really haven't been interested in too much, but I have good place to show. 80% said they'd cook. Do you cook?
Speaker 4:20:49Well I don't really cook, but I do make my own bread
Speaker 3:20:53sometime. Okay.
Speaker 4:20:55Every day I make my own breakfast. Almost mommy always go with my eyes or get makes my own breakfast. But I'm capable of making me all day.
Speaker 3:21:03That's, that's good to know. US being self sufficient as it
Speaker 4:21:06Micah and I can also ask to sell and I help you.
Speaker 3:21:10Oh, yummy. And I help you with cheesecake and cookies. Yeah, we do love making cheesecake, but we want to do the cheesecake once a year. Yeah. How would you help mommy make things?
Speaker 4:21:22Well, sometimes I do like what? Like a few times I would ask her if I can help out with dinner, but normally I have homework I need to do. So I haven't done it recently, but I do like to help out around the kitchen when a few things I can probably make a sandwich now. I mean,
Speaker 3:21:40well anybody can make a sandwich now, baby. I mean, at least with I'm making in mass, right? Yeah. Even though I still make a mess. All right. Last thing we had on the survey at a whopping 2% was gardening. Do you garden? Wow. I used to. Okay. I used to help my son to do a lot of things. You're only 12 years old. Why don't you stop doing all these things? Well, we don't really go on anymore number. Well, I think that was cause mommy missed the planting season. This time in the garden you'd did a lot of work. Yeah. We used to plant tomatoes, watermelons, which were never successful. Carrots, which are sometimes successful. And then the random squashes that would come up that we've never planted, which was always a mystery. Yeah. Because we probably threw away the squash in the garden. Then they started to grow for some reason. Are there any other hobbies that you're interested in that we haven't touched on yet?
Speaker 4:22:43Well, I do like to collect, um, oh, toys
Speaker 3:22:47up? Yes. And what are they?
Speaker 4:22:50If you've ever seen one? They have like the big guys and they were up on shift and they have a bunch of characters of them. Like if you've ever seen them in a little container, they have like big black eyes and I've collected a few.
Speaker 3:23:04Okay. What else do you collect? You seem to be a collector. Oh, I also clicked who she and stuff. Who Sheen. Yup. Okay. What does appreciate, um, who she is a gray cat with the little sister story. Okay. What else do you collect? Don't they come and milk jugs? Oh yeah. I'm lost Katie. All cuties. Right. You have a lot of those. Yep. Then la for Christmas this year. Yep. So you collect a lot. Yup. Do you play with the things you collect? Well I do. What else do you collect? I like to collect legos. Legos. Well I know you put all mine together when I get star wars ones much because you can't stand having to do you
Speaker 4:23:46eat.
Speaker 3:23:47I lack the dexterity to, to handle small parts like that. But it turns out to be profitable for you though. Cause you make money when you put it together for me.
Speaker 5:24:02Yeah.
Speaker 3:24:02This last couple of minutes of the podcast, what I wanted to do was sort of compare and contrast like you had requested that we do. I've got a couple of different categories. Those categories have things that I had when I was your age. So I'm going to list those things and I want you to tell me what the contemporary version of that is today.
Speaker 4:24:24All right, so like listing the item and then I'll tell you probably the contemporary version.
Speaker 3:24:29Yes. So when I was a kid, video games were in their infancy. So for video games, we had an Atari 2,600 we had in television, which was the sophisticated video game we had clico vision. And then in 1985 centuries ago, the big revolution to kick off the Karen video game industry happened. And that was an intender entertainment system. And that was the first chance you had of taking what you've found in the arcade and bringing it to your house. It was that high quality. So what is the video games of choice today?
Speaker 4:25:13Well, we have advanced arcade games. We have now a virtual reality. One of the places we go where you can eat your lunch and then,
Speaker 3:25:29well just talk to you about what's the, what's the, the pinnacle of video games in your home. Probably tend to switch Nintendo switch. And what's so unique or special about that?
Speaker 4:25:40Well, the Nintendo switch is basically again console where there are two little controllers on the end. You can slide them in and you can do also to stop. If you have your own television, you can put the um, actual a screen in there and then you can play it on your TV with the two little controllers. You can even make your own actual controller. You know, like the regular controller, you can put them in like a place for both of them to have like an actual controller.
Speaker 3:26:10So it's Kinda like a transformer of a video games.
Speaker 4:26:14So like a little wheel in case you were playing a racing game, you were able to actually steer wheel and you and was only two sets. You can have four players.
Speaker 3:26:25Okay. So we talked about Tory's already, the kind of foods that you played with. So I'm going to go down a list of toys that are in three different categories. They're either general, does, anyone would play with think of boys toys and girls toys. So for general, we, what is really on a rebound now? The Rubik's cube. Oh yeah. That was huge. Um, we had smurfs, smurfs cause the TV show was on at the time, the tours were, were huge and we had garbage pail kids. They were collectible hard system that you had and you ask mommy, mommy has like every one of them from the original set still preserve so and the boy side. We had GI Joe. This is the small ones, not the, not the big 12 inch ones. We had transformers which thanks to the series of Michael Bay movies are making a comeback.
Speaker 3:27:23We had go bonds, which was kind of like a cheaper version of transformers. We had of course star wars because return of the Jedi came up, empire strikes back, came out and he returned to judge. I came out in 83 and we had he man, which has gone through a couple of iterations since then on the girl's side, which is where I want to get your take from. We had my little pony, which is still around today. We had cabbage patch kids which had a resurgence. They were crazy. Mommy can tell you about average pass kids. We had chair barriers who had their own TV show. We had strawberry shortcake. You've heard strawberry shortcake, right, and we had easy bake ovens back then. They were only for girls. Now they make easy bake ovens for boards. So that's what the toys were like back in my day. So what, I mean we talked about some of the toys that you play with now. Um, any of these tours sound familiar to you at all?
Speaker 4:28:22Well, I know about the, my little pony cause like every time I look fro yes, there's always a my little pony right next to it. All right next to it. So yeah. Um, cabbage patch kids. I've heard of them but they're not been popular anymore.
Speaker 4:28:40Um, and uh, uh, what was the other ones?
Speaker 3:28:45Well, you had a care bears.
Speaker 4:28:48Well I think I might know what they are. Are they like different colored bears from TV show that um, yes, they were, ah, yeah. Well I know what they are, but they're probably more for younger girls now because I don't really know if anyone might, he just actually ended them.
Speaker 3:29:05Okay, fair enough. So yeah, so the next category is electronics. And at the very top of the electronics list is one that you're kind of familiar with and that's an intender may have the game board. That was the first portable gaming system that you could use cartridges, it and that was revolutionary, but it was black and white at the time so it was a little tiny black and white screen. Mommy can tell you about that too. Our portable music came in the form of a Sony Walkman. You didn't have iPods or smartphones or anything like that? Uh, they came out with the compact disc in 1982 and that was the first music want to digitize this 1980s it started out with the computer revolution with the IBM PC to commodore 64 the apple Macintosh. What did it, what are the popular computers that you have today?
Speaker 4:29:58Well, apple is one of the most popular computers which you have a few,
Speaker 3:30:05right, which we're not recording this podcast on the recording again on an HP today.
Speaker 4:30:09Yeah, and each page thinking each piece of good. I mean I have a lesson on Lenovo, Lenovo and Lenovo pretty good as well.
Speaker 3:30:21They are pretty good. So that's just sort of a contrast as to what we had back then sort of now. Yup. Did you have any closing remarks or anything on hobbies for today's podcast?
Speaker 4:30:40Well, no. I mean, I'm just going to say that I'm a club, do, uh, all sorts of things and that's pretty much my hobby. I also play with all the things I have and so things I just have because I think,
Speaker 3:30:54oh, cool. Okay. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate your time today and I think that's going to do it for insights into teens.
Speaker 4:31:02That's a good one. Bye Bye.
collecting, drama, emotion, hobbies, insight, insights, Insights Into Teens, littlest pet shops, star wars, teens, toys, transformers
Previous Insights Into Teens: Episode 0 "Braces"
Next Insights into Teens: Episode 2 "Depression"


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Eglolf Blarer (born in Konstanz; died 20 May 1442) was abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1426 to 1442.

Life
Eglolf descended from the important middle-class Blarer trade family who were initially native to Saint Gall, but had for one generation been living in Konstanz. He was a monk in Saint Blaise Abbey holding the offices of Grosskeller and prior. Pope Martin V appointed him Abbot of Saint Gall at the end of 1426 or at the beginning of 1427. Eglolf is first documented holding office on 25 January 1427.

"In 1436, he received the prerogative from the Council in Basel to let himself be consecrated by any bishop or abbot, should the ordinary (dt. "Ordinarius") refuse to consecrate him, as well as the prerogative to autonomously decide on vicars for the parishes of the city who were juridically subordinated to the abbot and the convent."

Emperor Sigismund confirmed on 28 November 1430 the prerogatives as well as the fiefs and rights, and so did his successor, Albert II, on 3 July 1439.

Works
The abbey's financial distress made the abbot ask the papal chamber for a deferral of the payment of fees. The troubles with Appenzell (dt. "Appenzellerwirren"), which consisted of a dispute that had begun under Abbot Kuno von Stoffeln and culminated in the Appenzell Wars and had remained unresolved for more than two decades, were also solved under Blarer. Defeated by Count Friedrich VII von Toggenburg in 1428, the Appenzeller became amenable to negotiations. On 26 July 1429, the Bishop of Konstanz, the St.-Jörgen-Bund and the Abbot of Saint Gall made peace with the Appenzeller. This peace corresponded quite closely to the award of the seven villages in 1421 under Abbot Heinrich von Mansdorf.

Under Abbot Eglolf, the troubles with Appenzell as well as the Old Zurich War came to an end, whereupon, on 18 May 1437, the abbot agreed upon a land law with Schwyz lasting 20 years. Therein, the political reorientation of the abbey towards the Swiss Confederation manifested itself for the first time.

On 16 March 1427 and 28 September 1429, Abbot Eglolf again confirmed the rights and liberties of the cities Wil and Saint Gall.

Apparently, his endeavours were furthermore directed towards the inner structure of the abbey. To this end, he summoned the monks of Hersfeld Abbey who belonged to the congregation of Bursfeld. He abolished the monks' proprietary possession in accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict, annulled the benefice organisations (dt. "Pfründenorganisationen") of the monastery offices and reestablished the communal life.

Eglolf is supposed to have repaired the convent buildings that had been demolished in the fire in 1418. Moreover, he is said to have begun the construction of a new chorus in 1439, which, however, could not be finalised, and to have established the monastery school.

In 1440, he removed the monks from Herdfeld again, as they tried by means of a visitation of the Council of Basel to also obligate the Abbot to a stricter order. In their stead, he summoned monks from Kastl Abbey.

Reading list

 Gössi, Anton: Kurzbiographien der Äbte. in: Johannes Duft, Anton Gössi, and Werner Vogler (eds.): Die Abtei St. Gallen. St. Gallen 1986, p. 146–47.

External links

 Bless, Magdalen. 2002: "Eglolf Blarer von Girsberg". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.

Year of birth unknown

1442 deaths
Abbots of Saint Gall

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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> Lenalotsey
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Social network-based influencers are the new celebs. And LA-based Speakr — until today known as twtMob — has just landed $2.9 million in seed funding to promote more brands through these 21st century stars. Each of these influencers has followers ranging from the tens of thousands to the millions. Their short videos, blog posts, photos, and tweets have gained huge followings for their wit, outrageousness, and engaging styles.
All the world's creators, in one place. All the world's creators, in one place. TheAudience. Giveaways, Sweepstakes and Contests for Bloggers and Brands. I've been really angsty of late, worrying about things I shouldn't worry about.
That's the life of a Jewish mother, I suppose. But it's also the life of a social media marketer who is valiantly trying to stay on the right side of the law. The FTC law, that is. No doubt most of you are aware that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) regulates advertising and marketing practices here in the U.S. They're the governmental group who has brought us the CAN-SPAM act (email marketing), COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and, more recently, their Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which helped to bring about a more open and transparent level of disclosure by bloggers about their relationships with brands, organizations and events.
The FTC is also one of the governmental bodies which regulates Contests and Sweepstakes (others being the Postal Service, the Department of Justice, and regulatory bodies within each of the 50 U.S. states). Interview: Pro Vine Artist Pinot Shares His Tips For Animating On Vine. This week's interview with a Pro Viner features Pinot, who headlined our list of talented #6SECFILMS entrants who weren't eligible to win the competition.
Originally from Indonesia and now living in Kuwait as an illustrator and motion graphic designer, Pinot finds time to make stop motion creations of his own using sketch drawings intertwined with the real world. The husband to a similarly-crafty wife and father to three magical children, he has found that Vine is like a family playground, with his kids being a constant source of inspiration. Tribeca: You clearly have a very strong background in art. At what point did you decide to combine your drawing skills with a digital medium like Vine? And were you actively making videos before Vine? Pinot: I decided to combine the two mediums when I realized I'm not allowed to use pre-recorded footage on Vine. Not Every Channel, The Best Channels. The Fast-Growing, Profitable Market For Kid "Influencer" Endorsements On Twitter, Instagram, Vine, YouTube, And Pinterest.
Who's getting the better deal here, the new age social media barons, or the brands paying them?
And when a trusted viral voice is now in the pocket of a big company, what's in it for the audience? Going Viral In Your Underwear Twenty-year-old Carmel, Calif. native Cameron Asa runs arguably one of the most powerful parody accounts on Twitter: TweetLikeAGirI. In a phone conversation he told me so, proudly. And unlike some of his peers he even advertises his rates online. "Some people are content to make $200 to $400 on their accounts [per post]," explains David Orr. Orr won't reveal just how much he makes, but says "making a thousand dollars a day is by no means unrealistic" for influencers. "It's great that 16- and 17 year-olds are making $500 a day in revenue, working from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., after school," he says. To do that the 22-year-old Illinois native and University of Arizona graduate spends an average of 14 hours a day online, seven days a week. Is influencer marketing over? Here's another pivot, this time from Wahooly.
By Erin Griffith On May 21, 2013 For a hot minute there, it felt like "influencers," loosely defined as anyone with a respectable number of Twitter followers, were the future of marketing.
Thanks to the democratizing ways of the Web, anyone with a Twitter handle suddenly has a voice and an audience. We saw how quickly bad behavior by companies (ahem, airlines, cable companies) spread through social networks. So why not make that work in the other direction? Let fans advocate for your brand, and suddenly you have millions of authentic micro-advertisements that cost next to nothing. Actors for Hire in Los Angeles, CA. Overview: Advertise with Townsquare Media, Advertiser Information.
Music Influencers
YouTuber 'PewDiePie' Is Making $4 Million A Year. Get in the News with Free HARO Publicity Alerts! - Help a Reporter Out. HARO is your exclusive publicity genie, delivering you 3 free email alerts daily, straight from journalists and media companies on a deadline who want your story and expertise!
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Related: Music Theory - Influencers - wine influencers - social influencers - Online Influencers & Services - Marketing Influencers - What Your Klout Score Really Means | WIRED - Influencer Marketing on Social Media: Everything You Need To Know - Social Media Analytics: Social Media Management & Listening Tools - PeerIndex: Social Analytics & Influence Tools - Brandwatch | Brandwatch - Who Are the Real Online Influencers? [INFOGRAPHIC] - Education - Enterprise

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Module 6: Set Theory and Logic
DeMorgan's Laws
Combine sets using Boolean logic, using proper notations
Use statements and conditionals to write and interpret expressions
Use a truth table to interpret complex statements or conditionals
Write truth tables given a logical implication, and it's related statements – converse, inverse, and contrapositive
Determine whether two statements are logically equivalent
Use DeMorgan's laws to define logical equivalences of a statement
There are two pairs of logically equivalent statements that come up again and again in logic. They are prevalent enough to be dignified by a special name: DeMorgan's laws.
The laws are named after Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871), who introduced a formal version of the laws to classical propositional logic. De Morgan's formulation was influenced by algebraization of logic undertaken by George Boole, which later cemented De Morgan's claim to the find. Nevertheless, a similar observation was made by Aristotle, and was known to Greek and Medieval logicians. For example, in the 14th century, William of Ockham wrote down the words that would result by reading the laws out. Jean Buridan, in his Summulae de Dialectica, also describes rules of conversion that follow the lines of De Morgan's laws. Still, De Morgan is given credit for stating the laws in the terms of modern formal logic, and incorporating them into the language of logic. De Morgan's laws can be proved easily, and may even seem trivial. Nonetheless, these laws are helpful in making valid inferences in proofs and deductive arguments.
[latex]\sim\left(P{\wedge}Q\right)=({\sim}P)\vee\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex]
[latex]\sim\left(P\vee{Q}\right)=\left(\sim{P}\right)\wedge\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex]
The first of DeMorgan's laws is verified by the following table. You are asked to verify the second in an exercise.
[latex]P[/latex] [latex]Q[/latex] [latex]\sim{P}[/latex] [latex]\sim{Q}[/latex] [latex]P\wedge{Q}[/latex] [latex]\sim\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)[/latex] [latex]\left(\sim{P}\right)\vee\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex]
T T F F T F F
T F F T F T T
F T T F F T T
F F T T F T T
DeMorgan's laws are actually very natural and intuitive. Consider the statement [latex]\sim\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)[/latex], which we can interpret as meaning that it is not the case that both P and Q are true. If it is not the case that both P and Q are true, then at least one of P or Q is false, in which case [latex]\left(\sim{P}\right)\vee\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex] is true. Thus [latex]\sim\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)[/latex] means the same thing as [latex]\left(\sim{P}\right)\vee\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex].
DeMorgan's laws can be very useful. Suppose we happen to know that some statement having form [latex]\sim\left(P\vee{Q}\right)[/latex] is true. The second of DeMorgan's laws tells us that [latex]\left(\sim{Q}\right)\wedge\left(\sim{P}\right)[/latex] is also true, hence [latex]\sim{P}[/latex] and [latex]\sim{Q}[/latex] are both true as well. Being able to quickly obtain such additional pieces of information can be extremely useful.
Here is a summary of some significant logical equivalences. Those that are not immediately obvious can be verified with a truth table.
[latex]\text{Contrapositive law}\begin{array}{c}P\rightarrow{Q}=(\sim{Q})\rightarrow(\sim{P})\end{array}[/latex]
[latex]\text{DeMorgan's laws}\begin{array}{c}{\sim(P\land{Q})=\sim{P}\lor\sim{Q}}\\{\sim(P\lor{Q})=\sim{P}\land\sim{Q}}\end{array}[/latex]
[latex]\text{Commutative laws}\begin{array}{c}{(P\land{Q})={P}\land{Q}}\\{(P\lor{Q})={P}\lor{Q}}\end{array}[/latex]
[latex]\text{Distributive laws}\begin{array}{c}{{P}\land(Q\lor{R})=({P}\land{Q})\lor(P\land{R})}\\{P\lor(Q\land{R})=({P}\lor{Q})\land(P\lor{R})}\end{array}[/latex]
[latex]\text{Associative laws}\begin{array}{c}{P\land(Q\land{R})=(P\land{Q})\land{R}}\\{P\lor(Q\lor{R})=(P\lor{Q})\lor{R}}\end{array}[/latex]
Notice how the distributive law [latex]P\wedge\left(Q\vee{R}\right)=\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)\vee\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)\vee\left(P\wedge{R}\right)[/latex] has the same structure as the distributive law [latex]p\left(q+r\right)=p\cdot{q}+p\cdot{r}[/latex] from algebra. Concerning the associative laws, the fact that [latex]P\wedge\left(Q\wedge{R}\right)=\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)\wedge{R}[/latex] means that the position of the parentheses is irrelevant, and we can write this as [latex]P\wedge{Q}\wedge{R}[/latex] without ambiguity. Similarly, we may drop the parentheses in an expression such as [latex]P\vee\left(Q\vee{R}\right)[/latex].
But parentheses are essential when there is a mix of [latex]\wedge[/latex] and [latex]\vee[/latex], as in [latex]P\vee\left(Q\wedge{R}\right)[/latex]. Indeed, [latex]P\vee\left(Q\wedge{R}\right)[/latex] and [latex]P\vee\left(Q\wedge{R}\right)[/latex] and [latex]P\vee\left({Q}\right)\wedge{R}[/latex] are not logically equivalent.
Negating Statements
Given a statement R, the statement [latex]\sim{R}[/latex] is called the negation of R. If R is a complex statement, then it is often the case that its negation [latex]\sim{R}[/latex] can be written in a simpler or more useful form. The process of finding this form is called negating R. In proving theorems it is often necessary to negate certain statements. We now investigate how to do this.
We have already examined part of this topic. DeMorgan's laws
[latex]\sim\left(P\wedge{Q}\right)=\left(\sim{P}\right)\vee\left(\sim{Q}\right)\\\sim\left(P\vee{Q}\right)=\left(\sim{P}\right)\wedge\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex]
(from "Logical Equivalence") can be viewed as rules that tell us how to negate the statements [latex]P\wedge{Q}[/latex] and [latex]P\vee{Q}[/latex]. Here are some examples that illustrate how DeMorgan's laws are used to negate statements involving "and" or "or."
Consider negating the following statement.
R : You can solve it by factoring or with the quadratic formula.
Show Solution
Now, R means (You can solve it by factoring) [latex]\vee[/latex] (You can solve it with Q.F.), which we will denote as [latex]P\vee{Q}[/latex]. The negation of this is [latex]\sim\left(P\vee{Q}\right)=\left(\sim{P}\right)\wedge\left(\sim{Q}\right)[/latex].
Therefore, in words, the negation of R is
[latex]\sim{R}[/latex] : You can't solve it by factoring and you can't solve it with the quadratic formula.
Maybe you can find [latex]\sim{R}[/latex] without invoking DeMorgan's laws. That is good; you have internalized DeMorgan's laws and are using them unconsciously.
We will negate the following sentence.
R : The numbers x and y are both odd.
This statement means [latex]\left(x\text{ is odd}\right)\wedge\left(y\text{ is odd}\right)[/latex], so its negation is
[latex]\sim\left[\left(x\text{ is odd}\right)\wedge\left(y\text{ is odd}\right)\right]=\sim\left(x\text{ is odd}\right)\vee\sim\left(y\text{ is odd}\right)\\\left(x\text{ is odd}\right)\wedge\left(y\text{ is odd}\right)=\left(x\text{ is even}\right)\vee\left(y\text{ is even}\right)[/latex]
Therefore the negation of R can be expressed in the following ways:
[latex]\sim{R}[/latex]: The number x is even or the number y is even.
[latex]\sim{R}[/latex]: At least one of x and y is even.
Revision and Adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
Math in Society. Authored by: Lippman, David. Located at: http://www.opentextbookstore.com/mathinsociety/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike. License Terms: IMathAS Community License CC-BY + GPL
DeMorgan's Laws. Authored by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Morgan%27s_laws. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Question ID 109608, 109064. Authored by: Hartley,Josiah. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: IMathAS Community License CC-BY + GPL


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As General Secretary of the NAHT, you will lead the Association and be a highly visible public face in the educational and political arena. Through a combination of successful political influence and the provision of highest quality services to members, the NAHT is already the largest association for school leaders in the UK and represents more than 29,000 school leaders in early years, primary, secondary and special schools. Our members consist of head teachers, deputies, assistants and school business managers. We provide representation, advice and training for school leaders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We use our voice at the highest levels of government to influence policy for the benefit of leaders and learners everywhere. NAHT Edge supports, develops and represents middle leaders in schools.
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text:
Visiting Writers Series to Feature Two Authors
September 28, 2006 — by Hope PR
The Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series of Hope College will feature both fiction and poetry as it welcomes David Harris Ebenbach and Vievee Francis on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
David Harris Ebenbach won the coveted Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 2005 and the Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writer Award for his collection of short stories, "Between Camelots." Stewart O'Nan has praised Ebenbach's work by stating, "These stories of searching young Americans are intimate and sharply detailed, sometimes hopeful, often sad, with just a taste of the strange." Ebenbach now lives in New Jersey, but many of his stories are set in Philadelphia, the city where he was born and raised.
Poet Vievee Francis's first book, "Blue-Tail Fly" is a collection that gives voice to "outsiders" - from soldiers and common folk to leading political figures - in the period of American history between the Mexican American War and the Civil War, and was recently published by Wayne State University Press as part of the Made in Michigan Writers Series. Thomas Lynch has called Francis "[a] reliable witness to history and the moment" and "the real thing: a poet with something to say and something worth listening to." Vievee Francis has had work published in the 2003 Grolier Prize Annual, Callaloo, Margie, and Crab Orchard Review among others.
In addition to the 7 p.m. reading, both writers will be involved in a question and answer session held at 3 p.m. in room 239 of the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication. The public is invited to the free event.
The Hope College Jazz Ensemble will precede the reading at the Knickerbocker with a 6:30 p.m. performance.
Additional information may be obtained online by visiting www.hope.edu/vws.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 East 8th Street. The Martha Miller Center is located on the corner of Columbia Avenue and 10th Street.
Nursing Co-Sponsors Workshop at Hope on Sept. 29
The department of nursing at Hope College is co-sponsoring an all-day professional workshop on clinical practice on Friday, Sept. 29.
Exhibition to Feature Work by Alumni
Work by more than two dozen Hope College alumni will be featured in an invitational exhibition opening with a reception in the gallery of the De Pree Art Center on Thursday, Sept. 7.


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Learn How To Create Two-Tone and Graphic Radials
by Ana Hicks 24 Jul 2008
DesigningVectorAdobe Illustrator
There are many types of radial patterns, and I find it helpful to have some of the more common kind on hand. I'll show you how to make two types of radials: two-tone radials, and the sort that has a repeating element, or what I think of as graphic radials. This tutorial is for the beginner Adobe Illustrator artist.
Final Image Preview
To begin with let's have a look at the image we'll be creating.
Before we get started, keep in mind there is another way of making radials. It involves taking a straight line and going to Effects > Transform, figuring out how many radii you want, and dividing that number by two (because you've got one line rotated n times), and then dividing that number by 360 to get what angle you want to rotate your line by.
If you're making a graphic radial, similar process applies, but then you have to take into account how wide your image is, how much you want to offset it by, and if you decide you don't like that particular effect and want to use a different image, you have to start over.
This makes my wee little neurons hurt. My method involves counting. And some knowledge of Illustrator. Let's put this particular tidbit of knowledge into those brain cells of yours, alright?
Create a new document, either color setting is fine. I'm working in a landscape orientation. I find 8.5" x 11" to be a handy size to design in. I originally learned to draw on standard size paper and am used to that proportion. Also, if you find yourself printing these out for whatever reason, you don't have to take the extra time to prepare it for printing, which is handy.
Choose the line tool, or hit the \ on your keyboard. Draw an odd number of vertical lines; I'll explain why specifically an odd number in a bit. To keep your lines vertical, hold down the Shift key while you drag. This will restrict you to 90 and 45 degree angles.
I find the easiest way to keep track of how many duplicates you end up with is to make one. Hold down Option & Command while dragging to duplicate three more. Then duplicate those four until you end up with roughly how many are needed. Then you just Option + Command drag a single instance to create one extra to make an odd number.
How many you make will determine how many radii are in your radial. Say that five times fast (that five times fast)! For this exercise I made 33 (4 x 8 + 1).
Space the first and the last line to give the ones in between enough room to be spaced out evenly without touching. The exact distance isn't all that important, because we're going to be turning this into an Art Brush, which will space them out along whatever path the brush is applied to. First, let's even them out a bit, alright?
Pull up your Align palette. It's usually grouped with the Transform & Pathfinder palettes, but if you don't have it up already, it can be found under Window > Align. Select your lines and choose Align Top, the third-from-the-right button along the top row. Next, select Horizontal Distribute Center, the second-from-the-right button along the bottom row. We now have a series of evenly distributed, level lines.
Now we're going to turn our lines into an art brush. Select the last line in the series and set its stroke to empty. Then drag all of the lines into your Brushes palette. If it's not open, you can find it in the same place we found the Align palette, only it's called Brushes. Nice of the people at Adobe to alphabetize the list, no?
A window titled New Brush should pop up, with the options of Scatter Brush, Art Brush, or Pattern Brush available to us. Choose New Art Brush and hit OK. Make sure the arrow is pointing along the brushes horizontally, not vertically.
I generally like to be able to change the color of my brushes, so go to the colorization section and choose Tints from the drop-down menu next to the word Method; contrary to rumor, it is possible to colorize black brushes; just look at the standard ones. Likewise, if you forget to do this step, you can always double-click on the brush thumbnail in the Brushes Palette, and that will bring this dialog box back up.
Tada! We now have a brush! Isn't it spiffy? All on the Brush palette and everything. Grab the Ellipse tool, it's under the Rectangle tool, or hit L for the shortcut on your keyboard. I would highly recommend getting used to using shortcuts, it makes everything flow along much faster. Granted, it may lead to certain people talking about using the N tool (pencil) and loosing some people in a conversation, but that's a different story.
Use the ellipse tool to create a circle by holding down Shift while you drag to an appropriate circumference. Perfect! Now click on the image of our brush in the Brush Palette to apply it, and we should now have 32 evenly spaced lines.
If you have the second image instead, you didn't empty the last line in Step 4. Delete that brush to avoid confusion and go back and do it again. Emptying the stroke makes it act as a spacer for the brush when it's repeated around an object like we're doing here.
With our stroked circle still selected, go to Object > Expand Appearance. You will now have an empty circle with our lines in a circle along it, but now it's all path. Go to Object > Ungroup or hit Command + Shift + G on the keyboard to accomplish the same thing.
The lines that made up the art brush are still grouped together, but the circle isn't grouped with them anymore. Select the empty circle and delete it. I prefer to leave the lines grouped together because to select them all I only have to click on part of one with the Selection Tool (V).
Since I'm showing you guys two nifty tricks to do with these, duplicate our lines and set one of them aside for later. We'll get back to it. Choose the white arrow, which is the Direct Selection Tool (A). Use that to select two end points of two of our lines. Go to Object > Path > Join, or hit Command + J. Repeat this all the way around.
This is where you should realize why I specified an odd number of lines to start out with. If you started out with an even number, one was sacrificed in the name of spacing and you've now got an odd number to join the ends together.
I mean, it's not necessarily bad, if you're looking to make a stylized flower or something, and for the second half of this tutorial it's not a problem at all, but for this particular project it's sockeye. Go add another line to the pre-brush state, make sure it's even as before, and do it again. It only takes a few seconds; I'll wait.
Select our nearly finished shape and click on the double ended arrow Switch button by the stroke and fill area on the tools palette (Shift + X) to exchange the stroke for the fill. We could leave it like this, but for good form I like to close my filled shapes. Switching out the stroke makes it easier to keep from accidentally creating one long zigzag path, rather than sixteen separate ones.
I also find it easier to zoom in for this part. Let's review three ways to zoom in or out:
Command and the plus sign to go in, command and the minus sign to go out.
Hold Command + Spacebar to click in. Hold Command + Spacebar + Alt to click out (or you can click & drag).
Using the Zoom tool (Z), hold down Alt to go out, and use it the same as the second method. And of course, hold down the Spacebar to click + drag yourself around the canvas, but I'll bet you already knew that.
Anyways, same as with the outer ring of end points: select two, join them, and continue all the way around. Zoom back out and this one's done! Set it aside, and let's work on the other piece now.
Using the Ellipse tool, make a long skinny oval, as in the picture. Now select the Pen tool, and hold down the Alt key; this will make your cursor look like an angled V; and is used to manipulate the handles on a point. Use it to click on the point on the left side of the oval, to change it into a point with no handles. Let go of the Alt key, and grab the Direct Selection tool again. The shortcut is to hold down the Command key.
Use it to select the two points in the middle, and drag them to the right, while holding down the Shift key to keep them going in a straight line horizontally, rather than becoming offset. Try not to get that little dip at the end from pulling it over too much; we want an oval end. Grab the left end point, and while holding Shift, drag it away from the other three to make it a bit longer.
Good! We now have a long skinny tear-drop shape on its side. Make it a filled shape and turn it into an Art Brush, same as in Step 4. Drag it into the Brush Palette, select Art Brush, and hit OK.
Select the circle of lines, and click on the thumbnail of our tear drop shape. Look at that starburst! But if we wanted a starburst, there's a tool that will make that quite simply, rather than going through this method. Deselect everything, and use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select only the inside endpoints on our radial.
Choose the Scale tool (S), and while holding the Shift key, drag in a diagonal direction to keep our circle circular; if you drag too far up or down, it will scale it as if you were only making our selection taller or wider.
You can do this to make the opening in the middle as big or small as you wish; if you just want to make the whole shape bigger, use the Selection Tool (V) to get the bounding box. Then just pull on a corner to get your desired size. Holding down Shift while you drag will keep your shape proportional as well.
We're almost done! Now we just need a focal image. Move the originals of both our brushes off to the side to get them out of the way. Select both of our radial shapes. Then using the Align Palette, hit Align Center Vertically and Align Center Horizontally.
Deselect them and then select on the graphic radial using the Selection Tool (V). Then grab the Rotate tool (R), and dragged them until they are more or less lined up in the middle of the arms of the colored radial.
I don't like that some of the graphic arms are overlapping the color ones; they won't be seen, and can become a problem later. Easy solution! Delete every other one. I suppose you could drag them off to the side and use them for something else, which is up to you.
The how-to of making the radials is done; now I'm going to show you how to create the preview image.
I found the cat picture here, on sxc.hu, more commonly known as Stock Exchange. It's a free stock imagery resource that I find immensely helpful. You do have to have an account to download anything, though, and not everything is commercially licensed. As the photographer, xtrapink says, it's a good luck money cat, and is thought to bring good business and money.
Save the image to your saving place on your computer, jump back to Illustrator, and go to File > Place. In the dialog window, select whatever you named it as and hit Place. See how happy he is! Copy the image (Command + C), and paste a copy on top of itself (Command + F).
With the top instance still selected, go to Object > Live Trace > Make and Expand. I like how it looks like this, but I also like some of the original color. Use the Magic Wand Tool to select the white, and in the Transparency Palette, drop it to 60% Opacity.
I think that the auto-trace on the cat's face is a little funny, so I'm going to fix that up a little. Live Trace is an amazing tool, but you usually have to go back in and clean things up after it. Of course that always depends on the look you're going for and your own personal style, but I want to clean it up, so I'm going to.
Using the Pencil Tool, draw an outline around the cat, without closing the path at the bottom. Obviously, it doesn't have to be perfect. What I like about the Pencil Tool is that you can draw over your line, and when you do it changes the original.
You can modify any path by drawing over it, for that matter; throw a Wacom or similar tablet into the mix and you'll have a good setup! Also, holding down Alt will give you the Smoothing Tool, which does what the name implies: it smoothes out the path it's used over.
Duplicate your outline in place. With one copy selected, also select the image. Go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make. This will make the newly clipped image pop to the level of the highest path, in my case second from the top. If this happens, go to Object > Arrange > Send Backward or hit Command + the Left Bracket key ([) until it sits back under the live traced image. You could also just grab it in the Layers Palette and drag it to where you want it to be.
Select the duplicate of the penciled line, and the black background area of our traced image. Find the Pathfinder Palette (usually grouped with the Transform and Align Palettes, but definitely under Windows > Pathfinder), and choose Intersect Shape Areas. It's the second from the right button on the top row. Then go to the end of the row and hit Expand.
When you use the Pathfinder tools, the resulting path will take on whatever fill or stroke condition the top path had, which in my case the outline path was set to an empty stroke and fill. So go up to the color Palette and make it black again.
Select the entire image and go to Object > Group (Command + G). Drag it over to the radials we created and set it above them. Select the radials group, and scale it up until it looks good with our lucky kitty. I just now noticed a bogey along the bottom of my image; if you've got one too, get rid of it. Another quirk of Live Trace, sometimes you get these odd long pieces along the edges.
Now for the final details! Make a rectangle around your image, wherever you want the edge of your image to be. Duplicate it, and send the duplicate underneath the radials. Apply a gradient to it by clicking on the gradient image in the Gradient Palette.
If yours is in grayscale, select one of the color markers, and go to the color Palette. There's a little arrow in a circle in the upper right corner. Click on it and choose whichever color setting you're working in. Then choose colors that activate the happy place in your brain.
Make sure the rectangle's duplicate is the top-most shape and select the entire image. Go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make Command + 7. A nice finishing touch is to add a border around the edge. Duplicate the gradient shape, make it no fill, and set a stroke of whatever color you think would look best. Then bring it up out of the clipping mask group to rest on top. Thicken the stroke a bit, smooth out some minor details and tada! Done!
The final design is below.
What I like best about this method is that you can rapidly change the image in your graphic radial. Anything you can turn into a brush, you can turn into a radial, absolutely anything. Below are some examples of simple changes, though you could make something more radical. Try experimenting with this. Also, It should be noted that while gradients can't be made into brushes, blended objects can.
Now that you've got a better working knowledge of Illustrator Brushes and the ins and outs of their uses. It's an incredibly powerful facet of Illustrator's abilities, and one that is most helpful to have on your designer's tool belt. Happy creating!
Ana Hicks
Ana has always had a big-time crush on illustration and graphic design, although calling it that is more recent. It all started when she was a wee little one, and her mom kept pens and paper in her purse for the expressed purpose of keeping Ana and her brother busy in public places. She is a native of Southern California, where she continues to live and work. She also likes grapes.


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Joanne "Georgia" Hayes Reynolds
April 28, 1942 — February 11, 2022
Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home - Howard Avenue
12:00 - 1:00pm
Starts at 1:00pm
Joanne "Georgia" Hayes Reynolds, 79, of St. Martin, passed away February 11, 2022. She leaves behind the love of her life, her husband, Paul Frank Reynolds. Mrs. Reynolds was born in Dudley, GA and has resided in Biloxi for the past 51 years. She retired from the Biloxi Regional Medical Center with 25 years of service. Upon graduation from high school, Mrs. Reynolds was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged at Keesler AFB.
Mrs. Reynolds is preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Melvin Hayes of Danville, GA and her mother, Agnes Hayes of Danville, GA.
Survivors include her husband, Frank Reynolds; three children, daughter, Tommie (Stewart) Faulk from Gulfport, MS, son, David (Stephanie) Wilcox from Sarasota, FL, and son, Mark Wilcox from Punta Gorda, FL; two step-sons, Mike (Melanie) Reynolds and Patrick (Julie) Reynolds; five grandchildren, Ashleigh Wilcox, Cameron Faulk, Nathan and Gracie Wilcox, and Naomi Wilcox; four step grandchildren, Chris, Amanda, Paige, and Heidi Reynolds; two step great-grandchildren, Samuel Reynolds and Luke Campbell; several cousins and very dear friends, Sherri Wilcox, Rita Meyers, Barbie, Abigail Wilcox, and Aaron Rowell. Also, her very dear and best friend, Sally Martar.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home on Monday, February 14, 2022 at 1:00 PM. Friends may visit form 12 PM to 1 PM. Burial at Biloxi National Cemetery will be held at a later date. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Joanne "Georgia" Hayes Reynolds.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Joanne "Georgia" Hayes Reynolds, please visit our flower store.
675 Howard Ave, Biloxi, MS 39530


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In DRC, Opportunities to Better Protect Children Affected by Conflict
New York, 25 November – At the conclusion of a seven-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, declared that at this important moment in the peace process in eastern DRC, we must seize every opportunity to better protect children affected by conflict-related violence.
"Child recruitment has plagued the East of the country for too long. The surrender of the M23 and other armed groups brings with it the responsibility to help children reunite with their families, go back to school and aspire to a better future. The citizens of the DRC are asking for peace and I call on all armed groups to immediately lay down their arms and release children in their ranks," declared the Special Representative.
Ms. Zerrougui met with national, provincial and local authorities in Kinshasa, Goma, Rutshuru and Beni. She assessed the situation of children affected by armed conflict, and reviewed progress in the implementation of the Action Plan signed in October 2012 by the Government of the DRC to end and prevent recruitment and use of children by national security forces, as well as sexual violence.
The Special Representative was accompanied by Barbara Bentein, UNICEF Representative in DRC. All activities were conducted by UNICEF and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO).
Implementation of the Action Plan
Since the signature of the Action Plan, hundreds of children have been released as a result of stronger cooperation between the Government and the United Nations.
"I was able to reconfirm the commitment of Congolese authorities to make their army child-free. We now have to address the remaining challenges to consolidate progress, achieve stability and ensure sustainability in the long term. To do so, strong political will is essential to strengthen state authority and the justice system. Adequate resources must be allocated in the national budget, to ensure the sustainability of the support provided by the UN and its partners," said the Special Representative.
Children associated with armed groups and victims of other grave violations
Despite this progress, the Special Representative witnessed that children continue to be directly associated with armed groups, victims of grave child rights violations, such as killing, maiming, abductions and sexual violence. In some cases, they are detained without due process by national security forces for their alleged association with rebel movements.
"The Government is committed to ensuring that perpetrators of child rights violations, regardless of their affiliation, are not integrated in the national security forces held accountable for their actions in court. To this end, regional cooperation in the fight against impunity is essential to end the cycle of violence in the eastern DRC," said Ms. Zerrougui.
Unaccompanied children victims of the armed conflict in the DRC
The Special Representative commends the release and handover by Ugandan authorities to United Nations partners of unaccompanied Congolese children victims of the armed conflict in the DRC.
Between May 2012 and November 2013, the United Nations identified a significant number of foreign unaccompanied children victims of the conflict in eastern DRC.
"All governments concerned need to cooperate with the UN and partners to immediately facilitate family reunification of children victims of the armed conflict in eastern DRC, irrespective of their nationality, status or whereabouts," Ms. Zerrougui said.
Protecting children must be at the heart of the ongoing dialogue and measures adopted to build a sustainable peace in the region. The Special Representative welcomes the campaign "Zero Child Soldier in the Great Lakes Region" announced last week by the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and looks forward to working with them towards this shared goal.
Protecting Education
In eastern DRC, children's right to education has been compromised by the looting and destruction of many schools. In its rebuilding efforts, the Government should make the rehabilitation of schools a priority. Education is central to prevent violence. It is the start of a better future for the child, his community and the country.
Releasing children associated with armed groups is crucial, but it is also the beginning of a long road to rebuild their lives. UNICEF and its partners play a key role by supporting the Government to help children affected by conflict regain their childhood, return to school and resume a normal life with their families.
"The UN stands ready to work with Congolese authorities to develop a national demobilization plan that will ensure adequate planning and resources for the reintegration of children," said Ms. Zerrougui.
The Special Representative and the United Nations in DRC renew their commitment to support the people of DR Congo to protect children and help them build the future of the country.
According to Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, child soldiers in Eastern DRC need to be reintegrated with families and return to education; children targeted as members of armed groups
http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/press-release/in-drc-opportunities-to-better-protect-children/
Appeal or News Release
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Home > Big Story > Joe Biden to be US President; Kamala Harris becomes Vice-President-elect
Joe Biden to be US President; Kamala Harris becomes Vice-President-elect
Agencies7 Nov 2020 7:15 PM GMT
Washington: Democrat Joe Biden on Saturday defeated incumbent Republican US President Donald Trump in the closely-fought presidential election, according to American media projections.
The 77-year-old former US vice-president will become the 46th president of the United States, CNN reported, after a victory in Pennsylvania, the state where he was born put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
With Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, Biden now has a total of 273 electoral votes.
Before becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Biden served as vice president under former President Barack Obama. He is also Delaware's longest-serving Senator.
Senator Kamala Harris, 56, who is of Indian origin, has become the first-ever woman vice-president-elect of the United States. She would also be the country's first Indian-origin, first Black and first African American vice-president of the country. Biden and Harris would be sworn in as the President and Vice-President of the country on January 20.
"America, I'm honoured that you have chosen me to lead our great country. The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me," Biden said in a tweet soon thereafter.
"This election is about so much more than Joe Biden or me. It's about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let's get started," tweeted Vice-President-elect Harris. Trump was playing golf in Virginia when major media outlets called the race. He is now the first incumbent President to lose reelection bid after George H W Bush in 1992.
Major media outlets started calling Biden the winner after it became clear that he has taken a major lead in the battleground State of Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes, making him cross the benchmark of the 270 electoral college votes.
Counting of ballots is still ongoing in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. Biden has the lead in all the four states, which according to major media outlets is unlikely to be reversed.


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26. Chase Claypool
Some people hate Claypool more than anybody else in the NFL because of his online persona. They see him as immature and childish because of his antics on social media. It doesn't help that he made a lot of mistakes when playing for the Steelers in 2021.
Claypool is one of those players that makes it easy for people to focus their hatred. It doesn't matter that he's a young man with a big personality and having a good time. They can't abide his personality and wish that Pittsburgh picked somebody else (via CBC).
25. Isaiah Wilson
There's a strong argument that Wilson is a top-10 worst pick of all time. The Titans used their first-round selection on the former Georgia offensive tackle. It appeared to be a good move because he had fantastic physical attributes and performed well for the Bulldogs (via Sports Illustrated).
But he only made a single appearance for the Titans after a season of legal trouble. He went on a high-speed car chase and also violated NFL health policies. In the end, Tennessee had enough and cut ties with the player. He wasted his talent more than anybody else over the past few seasons.
24. Lane Johnson
Johnson knows that the Patriots hate him more than anybody else. But in his own words, he doesn't care because that means he's doing something right. The Eagles star received an incredible amount of hate mail from Pats fans after his role in their 2018 Super Bowl win.
He said that the Eagles had more fun winning their ring than New England's five (at the time). The right tackle had no problem stirring up a hornet's nest online. Johnson also riled up other fanbases because he committed multiple PED violations (via Clutchpoints).
Florida Times-Union
23. Blake Bortles
There aren't many backup quarterbacks on this list but Bortles earned his place. It's easy to forget that he's still an active NFL player because nobody likes to think about it. As well as having one of the worst names ever, Bortles was a terrible signal-caller for the Jaguars.
The main reason why Bortles received so much hate was that he is a bad player. It's harsh but it's true and this made it easy for fans to pile on. Bortles didn't deserve all of the abuse on a human level but people don't think about this when they unleash their outrage (via New York Post).
22. Tom Brady
A few years ago, Brady would have been on top of this list. But he's no longer playing for the ruthless, cheating Patriots so it's not as easy to hate him. Furthermore, he earned the goodwill of many fans after he won an incredible seventh Super Bowl with the Bucs.
Pats Pulpit
Terrell Suggs still despises Brady more than any other human being on earth. It's safe to say that several NFL supporters maintain this feeling for the football icon. Success creates jealousy in all walks of life so it's no surprise that Brady still receives a lot of it (via Fox Sports).
21. Joe Mixon
Mixon hit a woman in the face and that's exactly why many NFL fans can't stand him. It's always tricky when a franchise employs somebody with dubious moral integrity. Unfortunately, Mixon fits into this category because of his brutality in an Oklahoma diner.
Many supporters justifiably despise assaulters more than anyone else. Mixon will never be able to convince some people that he's a reformed character. It doesn't matter what he does on the field because they will still hate him. To be fair, it's not that surprising really (via Cincinnati WCPO).
20. Kirk Cousins
Few players polarize NFL fans like Cousins. A large contingent believes that he's one of the most underrated passers in the game. They think that the right system would bring the best out of the Vikings star. However, others despise his personal views and think he's a garbage player.
The reality is that his status here is the same as his quarterback level. Fans hate him but he still doesn't make the top 10 in the league. Others point out that he commands ridiculous money despite his abilities. Cousins is one of those players who'll never have everybody on his side (via Audacy).
19. Mitchell Trubisky
Trubisky is one of those players fans love to hate after the Bears traded up for him. To say that he disappointed Chicago is an understatement as he left the organization with his tail between his legs. However, unlike other athletes on this list, Trubisky isn't a bad person (via Yardbreaker).
But that doesn't mean anything to ruthless NFL fans spewing their opinions online. As far as they're concerned Trubisky is only a level or two above the perpetrator of genocide. There was widespread relief in Illinois when he departed to become the Bills' back-up behind Josh Allen.
18. Cole Beasley
Beasley experienced a lot of fan hate throughout his career. He first riled up the Bills against him in 2014 but things settled down and he continued to play for the franchise. However, they came to a boil again in 2021 as he criticized the Mafia for booing him at home (via USA Today Sports).
The wide receiver had strong opinions on the NFL's vaccination stance. This didn't please some fans who believed that he was a moron and they made their voices heard. Beasley called them out after the game and said that he thought the Bills fanbase was supposed to be the best in the world.
17. Carson Wentz
Philadelphia Eagles fans are infamously some of the least forgiving in the NFL. They hate Wentz more than anyone else in the league because he let them down badly. It appeared as though he was the next big thing and their new generation's leader. But then he had a stark decline and took 50 sacks in 2020.
They wanted him out of the organization but he came back to haunt them. The Colts promised the Eagles a first-round pick if Wentz reached a 75 percent snap threshold. However, he suffered injuries and then fell ill after violating NFL health regulations. No wonder they can't forgive him (via The Guardian).
16. Jameis Winston
Many NFL fans don't have much respect for Winston because he is an interception machine. That's why he lost his starting spot in Tampa Bay and moved to New Orleans. He spent time as Drew Brees' back-up before the franchise gave him a chance to stake his claim as a starter.
However, there was one massive problem with this decision. The Saints and the Buccaneers are two of the biggest rivals in their division. Now Tampa fans hate Winston more than anyone because he plays for their enemy. It's quite the turnaround for the former first overall pick (via Fansided).
Norman is one of the biggest heels in the NFL so it's no surprise that opposition fans can't stand the sight of him. One of the main things they hate is that he talks too much. This is very true because he's not afraid to voice his opinions or to give his teammates abuse.
Meanwhile, he's no stranger to a dirty tackle as Odell Beckham Jr. will testify. Norman is one of those players that NFL fans will always hate unless he plays for their team. Even some of his supporters find it difficult to appreciate him because of his personality (via New Jersey.com).
14. Baker Mayfield
Mayfield receives a lot of hate and is one of the most divisive figures in the NFL. It's fair to say that some Browns fans hate him more than the man who replaced him in 2022. The problem is Mayfield's self-belief and personality because they think he's too full of himself.
Furthermore, some NFL supporters doubt that the former Heisman winner will ever be an elite QB. This may be true but it's not a reason to hate the signal-caller. Unfortunately, he also said that he'd love to boo fans at their jobs and this didn't come across well (via N.Y. Post). After deciding he would no longer play for the Browns, Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers for the low cost of a 2024 fifth-round pick. We'll see if he can reinvent his career in Charlotte.
13. Jalen Ramsey
Some fans hate Ramsey because he talks too much. The Rams star is one of the NFL's biggest trash-talker and not everybody appreciates it. Rams fans love him because he's an electric talent but it's easy for them to root for him. After all, he helped them to a Super Bowl win (via G.Q.).
If the cornerback played for another franchise, those fans would love him too. He's that type of personality that makes everybody else think he's as annoying as a dodgy Wi-Fi connection. Ramsey will never win everybody over but he doesn't care as long as he succeeds on the field.
12. Kareem Hunt
Hunt said that he's "not that type of person" after a video emerged of him beating a woman in a hotel room. The footage proved that he was that type of person because he committed a heinous act. It's also why many NFL fans hate him more than anyone else in the league.
The Chiefs cut the running back after the incident but the Browns didn't have a problem snapping him up. They're proving to be a landing ground for violent abusers of women. There's nothing worse than a man who lays hands on a woman, or their feet in Hunt's case (via Daily Mail).


Legend has it that if you're not spotted wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, the pesky leprechaun will be out to pinch you. Make sure your little one is pinch proof ready by customizing this tutu onesie. It's definitely cute and, even better, it will protect her from the leprechauns.


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Todays excerpt from "The Interceptors Club & the Secret of the Black Manta.
SEE SPECIAL OFFER AT THE END OF THIS POST!
"Actually this is pretty straight up program. Works like a flight simulator. If we had decent joystick and a transmitter we could fly her." Sami said.
"Wait. Try this." Freaks said handing Sami a cheap plastic gaming joystick.
"I have a better one at the house." Sami said. "It has full throttle controls and foot pedals."
"Just see if these will work." Freaks said.
"Okay. I'll put it in simulation mode only." Sami said.
"I'm guessing the simulation mode is used for mission planning?" Caysi asked.
"Yes. You can fly her in manual mode like a pilot or just enter in GPS way-points to a target."
The Interceptors sat in the dark staring at the screen on Static's home computer. Just in case, they had drawn all the blinds and curtains lest someone see them exploring a Top Secret military computer program.
Caysi was busy reading pages from the flight manual they had just printed out. It was huge, over 500 pages and took seven ink cartridges and over two hours to print.
Each time they ran out of ink, Static sent Meinrad to the computer store with some of Pepper's cash.
The cover of the manual bore an ominous looking label: TOP SCERET/ SPECIAL ACCESS REQUIRED, THE CONTENTS OF THIS FILE IS RESTRICTED TO CLEARED PERSONNEL.
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SOCOM seeking stealth transport
Despite U.S. Special Operations Command's push to replace its decades-old aircraft fleet with new versions of old designs, clandestine operations likely will require a new airframe to perform covert infiltrations in the face of 21st century air defenses.
To this end, top special operations officials are starting to flesh out what such a craft will look like. While the current fleet of special ops airframes is derived from venerable troop transport planes and helicopters designed in the mid- to late 20th century, such as the C-130 Hercules and CH-47 Chinook, a custom-designed aircraft built for delivering troops on clandestine missions may become necessary, said Michael Vickers, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for special operations, said earlier this year.
The reason, he said, is the rise in advanced air defense systems being developed and sold by Russia and China to nations throughout the world. These systems are capable of defeating all but the latest in stealth technology.
The Pentagon's 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) emphasized expanding the number of special operations ground troops, and the 2010 QDR called for a corresponding buildup in special ops airlifters. However, the 2006 document only focused on replacing the decades-old MC-130E and P fleet of airlifters with the new J-model MC-130 to fly under enemy radar and deliver special operations troops to clandestine location.
While these planes feature terrain-following radar and advanced countermeasures, they have a fundamentally unstealthy design dating to the 1950s. The Pentagon will likely look "pretty hard" at this issue in the 2014 QDR, according to Vickers, who acknowledged that such an aircraft would be expensive.
One expert, however, said the command will have a difficult time securing the massive funding needed to develop a special ops-specific stealth airlifter.
SOCOM "is purchasing smaller aircraft to fly low and stealthy, and unless they get a whole lot of development cash for an all-new airplane, that's probably the way to go," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with Teal Group, Fairfax, Va. "In terms of actually buying some super-secret, penetrating, stealth transport, that's where the budget just runs out."
The command historically has relied on existing technology, both military and civilian, and investing in high-tech modifications to customize it for demanding missions, rather than pouring millions or billions of dollars into developing special ops-specific aircraft.
SOCOM has "never been able to fund their own SOCOM-specific airplane," Aboulafia said. "The idea of starting with something that would be extremely expensive to develop, that's unlikely."
Aboulafia pointed out that in the past few years, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the U.S. Air Force's contribution to SOCOM, has begun investing heavily in small single- and twin-engine planes, sometimes painted in civilian livery such as the Pilatus PC-12. These aircraft are being purchased to deliver special operations troops around the world without drawing the attention that the four-engine C-130 would garner.
In many cases, these aircraft, some of which are based on old Soviet designs such as the Polish-built M28 Skytruck, can be parked on foreign airport ramps without giving away the U.S. presence, according to AFSOC officials. The command has even contemplated buying twin-engine deHavilland Canada Dash-8 turboprops to haul troops around the world.
The Dash-8 style aircraft could be used to transport special ops troops and gear to a main staging area in far-off regions, while the smaller planes could fly the troops on missions into primitive airstrips or through sensitive airspace under what AFSOC officials have described as a hub-and-spoke system.
Using such small aircraft while developing more advanced tactics to evade radars will likely be the key to overcoming enemy defenses while slipping special operations troops into unfriendly countries.
"In the littoral area, that's why we have SEAL delivery systems; inland, well, you'll just have to find ways to fly below the radar or between gaps in coverage," the analyst said.
One possible alternative would be for the command to partner with the Air Force to develop a new generation of stealthy transport aircraft, similar to the way it did with the V-22 Osprey, used by the U.S. Marine Corps and AFSOC, Aboulafia suggested.
Still, "I'm not so sure why the Air Force would pay for that," he added. ■
Bin Laden Hunter praised-villified
Intrigue over Gary Faulkner's one-man hunt for Osama bin Laden has sparked both outrage and praise on the internet and blogosphere.
Pakistani authorities announced this week that they had picked up the 50-year-old Colorado man near the border with Afghanistan. Armed with a pistol, sword, night-vision equipment and Christian literature, Faulkner told police that he had been hunting bin Laden since the September, 11, 2001 attacks.
Some have dismissed him as mentally unstable, which his brother, a physician, has denied.
But others have lauded his attempt to do what the U.S. government has failed to do for nearly a decade: find the head of al Qaeda, which carried out the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Faulkner's exploits have inspired a slew of nicknames on Twitter and Facebook, including Rambo, American Ninja and the new Chuck Norris.
He's even been turned into an animated character on YouTube.
A Twitter post suggested Faulkner should face off against another daunting foe: the BP oil spill.
"Ask #GaryFaulkner to swim to the sea floor and plug the hole with his fist," @HerbCarmen posted.
Faulkner's family is taking it all in stride.
"I do like American ninja, that is pretty cool," Scott Faulkner said
He said he believed his brother's mission has tapped into an element of American society.
"It's true Americana. We all fall in love with Chuck Norris, we fall in love with Clint Eastwood, We fall in love with John Wayne," Scott Faulkner said. "Why? Because they fight for the American way. They find the bad guy, they may get roughed up a little bit, knocked in the dirt but at the end of the day they come out on top."
But not all of the internet chatter has been favorable. "Looney Christian warrior" pops up a lot. Scott Faulkner admits his brother's plan is not something he would attempt, but he insists that Gary is perfectly sane.
"Having known Gary for 43 years I can honestly say he's not a sociopath, he's not psychotic, he's not crazy. He hasn't harmed anyone." Faulkner said. "He is an American hero."
He predicts that Gary will enjoy the media attention when he returns to the United States and suggests who should play the lead role if his brother's his story ever becomes a movie:
"Jackie Chan with a wig," Faulkner said. "He's got the sense of humor and the physical ability."
Post by: CNN All Platform Journalist Jim Spellman
Filed under: Pakistan • Terrorism
Todays excerpt from "The Interceptors Club & the S...


Having a healthy family is a priority for most parents. After all, being sick isn't fun, and it's absolutely heartbreaking to see those you love suffer from an illness, even if it's just a cold or minor bug. That being said, few parents make the changes necessary for a healthier lifestyle, as they assume that they'll be difficult to put into action and stick to. However, getting fit is rarely as difficult as you might think. If you're hoping to make your entire family healthier, including your partner, kids, and pets, here are five things you need to do.
Most people assume that eating healthy means eating a lot less than they do right now. Thankfully, this couldn't be any further from the truth. Instead of cutting back on how much you and your family eat, you should focus on switching up your meals to include more fruits and vegetables. These provide vitamins and minerals that are vital in keeping you strong and fighting illness. You should also ensure that you feed your pets a balanced and nutritious diet.
When most people imagine working out, they picture jogging around the neighbourhood or visiting a local gym. This can really put people off from exercising, as these options aren't particularly appealing to most people. However, there are plenty of activities that your whole family could enjoy, including swimming, dancing, playing football, or cycling. You should also walk your dog every single day and play with any of your other pets to keep them active.
If you have a mixed breed dog in the family, you might want to give it a DNA test. There are lots of brands you can choose from, so do some research and find out more information before you choose one. These DNA tests will, of course, tell you what breeds your dog is made up from, but it will also let you know what health conditions you need to look out for. This means that you can work on preventing these conditions and keeping your furry friend happy and healthy.
Stress is something that everyone has to deal with, kids and animals included. Unfortunately, if left unmanaged, it can lead to some pretty serious health problems, so it's crucial that you work on keeping stress levels low. This means ensuring that everyone eats right, exercises every day, manages their time well, and goes to bed at a reasonable hour. You may also want to invest in a few plugins for around the house and create somewhere for your pets to be by themselves.
Even if you and your family seem pretty healthy, it's important that you all go for regular checkups at least once a year. Of course, for your pets, this will be with a vet, rather than the family doctor. It's important that you do this, as the professionals may be able to spot something wrong that you haven't been able to notice yet. They will also be able to suggest more ways to make your family a little healthier.
Making a healthier family really isn't as difficult as you might think. Hopefully, the tips above will help you.


Wilkadene Homestead is 20 Km north of Renmark and was established before Renmark became an irrigation settlement, in the early days of the paddle steamer. Wilkadene Cottage is for hire and is quiet, self-contained, set in the extensive gardens of the Homestead. Search below for Wilkadene Cottage Bed & Breakfast Renmark reviews, photos, map information and rates.
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Renmark is the last major town bordering South Australia, it is located approximately 254 kilometres northeast of Adelaide. The name of the town translates to "Red Mud". Characterized by elegant wide streets, the town has been the multicultural center for the Riverland area.
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